About Me

When I became a parent, I knew that I wanted to help my kids be comfortable with the dentist from a very young age. I started them with routine dental visits as babies so that those appointments were just a normal part of the schedule. I found a dentist who would work with me for these appointments, even when all they could do was check my baby's gums. Over the years, I learned lots of other tips for helping kids adapt to dental office visits. I created this site to share my tips to help other parents transition their children into a comfort zone with the dentist.

2 Tips For Safe Teeth Whitening

Posted on
12 November 2014

Nothing is quite as attractive as a shiny, white smile. Unfortunately, even the most diligent brusher can be faced with yellowed, dingy teeth after awhile. If you want to turn the tables in your favor, teeth bleaching is a great way to remove years of unsightly stains. Here are two tips for safe teeth whitening, and the problems you might run into if you decide to go rogue.

1: Work With a Cosmetic Dentist

Because supermarket shelves are lined with products that promise to whiten and brighten your teeth, many people figure that they don't need the help of a dentist. Unfortunately, acting as your own cosmetic dentist might not yield the same results that you would be able to achieve otherwise.

To whiten your teeth safely, the first thing that your dentist will do is check your overall dental health to make sure that whitening is safe. If you have hidden dental decay, and you decide to whiten on your own, you might be left dealing with irritated roots that have been exposed to whitening gel.

Once your dentist, like Kreger, Karla M, confirms that whitening won't irritate your teeth, he or she will create trays specifically designed to fit over your teeth. These trays not only work to keep bleach close against dental surfaces, but they also help to keep it away from your gum line, unlike those one-size-fits-all whitening strips.

2: Don't Have Bleach-A-Thons

After your custom trays come back from the lab, and you are ready to start whitening your teeth, you might be tempted to toss aside those instructions that your dentist gave you and do your own thing. One way that people try to expedite the whitening process is by having personal bleach-a-thons and wearing their trays for much longer than they are supposed to.

Unfortunately, overdoing it with your bleaching trays might not whiten your teeth any faster, and it will most likely lead to extreme tooth sensitivity. To keep your teeth happy and healthy, abide by the instructions that your dentist gives you to the letter of the law. Don't wear your trays overnight, and remember that if it took 10 years to accumulate all of those stains, you might not be able to clean them up in a day.

Whitening your teeth the right way might take a little bit longer, but chances are that your teeth will feel better along the way and end up whiter than they would be otherwise.